Clothesline clamp



June 5 1923.

P. JENONIS GLOTHESLINE CLAMP Filed April 5, 1922 v s w m M J J E R I V mP Eases Patented June 5, 1923.

UNHTE PETER, JENONIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

1 Application filed April 5,

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER Jnuoms, a cit zen of the Republic ofLithuania, and a resident of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin a Clothesline Clamp; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawmgs, and to the numerals of reference markedthereon, which form a part of this specificat on.

My invention relates to a new and improved form of clamp especiallysuited for use with clothes lines, although it is equally suited forholding ropes in a variety of different arts.

An important object of my invention 15 to produce an improved clamp thatwill have distinct advantages arising from the novelty and usefulness ofits construction.

A further object of my invention is to produce a device capable ofmanufacture in large quantities at a very small unit cost.

An important object of my device is to enable the user to take up slackin a clothes line at any time without having to untie any connections.

Another object of my device is to clamp the varying sizes of line incommon use without adjustment of any sort.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparentfrom the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

The invention (in a preferred form) is illustrated in the drawings andhereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the device of my invention.

Figure 2 is a section alongthe line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of my device with a clothes line engagedtherein.

Figure 1 is a section along the line t-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a section along the hne 5-5 of Figure 1.

As shown on the drawings:

The numeral 1 refers to the body or bracket to be attached to a supportwhereever the purchaser desires by means of screws 6. The body may beconveniently produced for quantity production by stamp- CLOTHESL'INECLAIMP.

1922. Serial No. 549,714.

ing in one operation from sheet metal. It is also equally suited forproduction by the modern die-casting process, or as malleaiole casting.The bracket 1 is provided with recesses on its rear face in which alever 3 is pivoted. A hump 7 is formed over each recess to provide aneven distribution of material in the bracket, and to serve as a buttover which the rope is jammed, as will be described later. The lever 3has forks 4 at its upper end and, a tail 5 at its lower end, the underside of said tail being concave and provided with downwardly andinwardly projecting teeth. On the bracket and corresponding in positionwith the lever tail is a substantially convex hump 2 tapering 0E intothe surface of the bracket slight- 1y below the position of the bottomedge of the tail 5. The hump 2 is provided with corrugations or teethsomewhat similar to those on the tail. The concavity of the tail and theconvexity of the hump are so related that with the tail in position theopenings at its edges will be greater than at its center so that pullingthe rope towards the center increases the wedging action.

In use the end of the rope or clothes line 8 is passed between the forks4, over one of the humps 7 and between hump 2 and tail 5 on one side ofthe lever 3. Pulling on the slack or hanging end of the rope will drawit through the clamp, while any strain, on the rope leading from theforks will pull the lever outwardly at the top, forcing the lever tailonto the rope below the hump 7. The holding action ofmy device consistsof a combination of the gripping action ofthe teeth on the tail and hump2 and the bend put into the rope by the humps 7.

My device is capable of handling two 9 ropes at the same time, onopposite sides of the lever, even if the ropes vary somewhat in size,because of the decreasing width of opening toward the center of thelever, as the smaller rope can be pulled closer to the center tocompensate for its size. n

I am aware that numerous details of construction may be varied through awide range without departing from the principles of this invention, andI therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted otherwise thannecessitated by the prior art.

I claim, as my invention: 1. A bracket having apertures for insert- 11mg means for securing it to a wall,struck up humps forming recesses onthe rear face thereof, a corrugated hump centrally dis posed on thefront of said bracket below the first mentioned humps, a broad-tailedlever pivoted in said recesses, and a concave corrugated surface on thelower face of said tail, said concave surface having a greater radiusthan the hump to form a diverging opening on each side of thecenter-line of said lever.

2. In a device of the class described, a bracket, humps on said bracketforming aligned recesses on the rear face thereof, a substantiallyconvex surfaced striated area centrally disposed below said humps, abifurcated lever pivoted in said recesses in the bracket, an appendageon said lever having a striated concave under surface adapted toregister with said convex area on the bracket, and of greater radiussaid appendage being so located relative to the humps on said bracketsas to cause a rope clamped between said convex nae-mare and concavesurfaces to be bent over one of said humps.

3. In a clothes line clamp, a frame, projections on said frame, a leverpivoted betw en said projections, a fork on one end of said lever, abroad tail on the other end having a concave file-like under side, acorresponding substantially convex surface on the frame of less radiusthan the concave surface of the lever tail to produce an increasingwedging action towards the center line of the lever, said tail being solocated with respect to the projections on the frame as to bend theclothes line over said projections to increase the holding power of theclamp.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two subscribing witnesses.

PETER JENONIS. lVitnesses EARL M, HARDINE, JAMES M. OB nnzv.

